Wood Storks

A quicker ride along Interstate 75 in Broward and Miami-Dade counties could come at the expense of endangered wood storks. A plan to widen a 17-mile stretch of the interstate would destroy 382 acres of foraging habitat for the birds, which have declined in the southeastern United States due to a loss of wetlands in which to catch fish, according to a biological opinion released this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The proposal calls for adding one or two lanes, depending on the section, to the existing northbound and southbound lanes from Interstate 595 to just south of State Road 826, in a project by the Florida Department of Transportation, which would be approved and funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

WASHINGTON - - The iconic wood stork is making a comeback from the verge of extinction, a success story for a long-legged wading bird that breeds primarily in the western Everglades. But Audubon Florida leaders, while celebrating the comeback, say federal officials were much too quick to downgrade the wood stork from "endangered" to "threatened. " Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement Thursday at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a rookery in Georgia, saying the bird's recovery shows the value of the Endangered Species Act. When wood storks were listed as endangered in 1984, their population was dropping at a rate of 5 percent a year.

Steak 'n Shake, recently opened one of its newest locations in Boynton Beach ("Steak 'n Shake hungry for growth," Sept. 30). Although the restaurant "differentiates itself from fast-food competitors by offering table service," their 24-hour drive-through window suggests otherwise. This latest Steak 'n Shake occupies an area that had been a seasonal home to a number of wood storks, one of Florida's endangered species. These magnificent birds used to roost on the site in clusters of cypress trees.

Have you seen any nesting wood storks? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wants to know about it. It is trying to compile the locations of nesting colonies of the endangered wading birds which can be found throughout South Florida. But stay at least 100 yards away or you may scare them into abandoning their nests. The agency asks you email the date, location, description of habitat and your contact information to Storks@MyFwc.com . — David Fleshler

Blue looked melancholy. Stunt appeared puzzled. Moving to a new home can be trying, especially if you're a member of an endangered species. Wood storks Blue and Stunt moved into their new digs on Thursday to join a wood stork breeding program at Flamingo Gardens' Aviary. The pair came from the Miami Museum of Science, where they had lived for the past 11 years. Flamingo Gardens' captive breeding program, which will monitor the storks' health and possibly produce baby storks, is the only one of its kind in the United States, aviary officials said.

Anthony Brasfield saw romance when he released a dozen heart-shaped balloons into the sky over Dania Beach with his sweetie. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper saw a felony. Brasfield, 40, and his girlfriend, Shaquina Baxter, were in the parking lot of the Motel 6 on Dania Beach Boulevard when he released the shiny red and silver mylar balloons and watched them float away Sunday morning. Also watching the romantic gesture: an FHP trooper, who instead noted probable cause for an environmental crime.

Drought conditions straining South Florida water supplies actually could lead to a wading-bird baby boom in the Everglades. Wood storks, spoonbills, white ibis and great egrets are taking advantage of lower water levels in the Everglades water conservation areas west of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, with increased numbers of the birds nesting in areas normally too soggy for reproduction. Last month, the South Florida Water Management District's nesting count found 1,050 nests for endangered wood storks, compared to none in March 2010.

It looks like the central Everglades will produce a bonanza of wading bird chicks this year, a University of Florida researcher says. UF researcher Peter Frederick said he's tallied some 25,000 pairs of nesting wading birds since January in Water Conservation Area 3 -- Everglades wetlands west of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Nearly 80 percent were white ibis; the remainder included great egrets and endangered wood storks, he said. "We can say without question, in the Everglades, this is going to be among the better years, pretty easily," Frederick said.

Roseate Spoonbills are among the hundreds of wading birds flocking in unusually high numbers to two ponds at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach. For about a week the ponds beside the refuge visitors' center have become a birdwatchers paradise, thanks to a combination of lowered water levels and diminished oxygen in the water. That makes fish easy prey for wading birds such as Egrets, Herons, Wood Storks and Ibis. The Roseate Spoonbills are not usually found in these numbers so far north of the Keys, said Nick Aumen, aquatic ecologist at the refuge.

Recent articles have announced more federal support for restoring the Everglades, specifically adding 5.5 miles to the raising of Tamiami Trail by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Restoring the flow of water into the Everglades is critical to wildlife such as wood storks and the Roseate Spoonbills, but it is also critical to recharging the drinking water resources of South Florida and holding back the tide of climate change. Our economy will also benefit immediately, creating engineering and construction jobs, and long-term with recent studies showing a minimum 4-to-1 return on investment.

Roseate Spoonbills are among the hundreds of wading birds flocking in unusually high numbers to two ponds at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach. For about a week the ponds beside the refuge visitors' center have become a birdwatchers paradise, thanks to a combination of lowered water levels and diminished oxygen in the water. That makes fish easy prey for wading birds such as Egrets, Herons, Wood Storks and Ibis. The Roseate Spoonbills are not usually found in these numbers so far north of the Keys, said Nick Aumen, aquatic ecologist at the refuge.

Anthony Brasfield saw romance when he released a dozen heart-shaped balloons into the sky over Dania Beach with his sweetie. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper saw a felony. Brasfield, 40, and his girlfriend, Shaquina Baxter, were in the parking lot of the Motel 6 on Dania Beach Boulevard when he released the shiny red and silver mylar balloons and watched them float away Sunday morning. Also watching the romantic gesture: an FHP trooper, who instead noted probable cause for an environmental crime.

To the human inhabitants of South Florida, there may just be just two seasons: hot, and hot and rainy. But to countless animal species, South Florida is a complex progression of seasons, with a time to migrate here and a time to leave, a time to get active and a time to stay put. Thousands of species, from butterflies to crocodiles, follow their own seasonal rhythms. Some can be observed in your own backyard. Others would require you to don a face mask and flippers to see them. While it's impossible to describe them all, here's a guide to some of the more prominent wildlife species, and what times of year they're most visible.

A quicker ride along Interstate 75 in Broward and Miami-Dade counties could come at the expense of endangered wood storks. A plan to widen a 17-mile stretch of the interstate would destroy 382 acres of foraging habitat for the birds, which have declined in the southeastern United States due to a loss of wetlands in which to catch fish, according to a biological opinion released this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The proposal calls for adding one or two lanes, depending on the section, to the existing northbound and southbound lanes from Interstate 595 to just south of State Road 826, in a project by the Florida Department of Transportation, which would be approved and funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

Drought conditions straining South Florida water supplies actually could lead to a wading-bird baby boom in the Everglades. Wood storks, spoonbills, white ibis and great egrets are taking advantage of lower water levels in the Everglades water conservation areas west of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, with increased numbers of the birds nesting in areas normally too soggy for reproduction. Last month, the South Florida Water Management District's nesting count found 1,050 nests for endangered wood storks, compared to none in March 2010.

Recent articles have announced more federal support for restoring the Everglades, specifically adding 5.5 miles to the raising of Tamiami Trail by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Restoring the flow of water into the Everglades is critical to wildlife such as wood storks and the Roseate Spoonbills, but it is also critical to recharging the drinking water resources of South Florida and holding back the tide of climate change. Our economy will also benefit immediately, creating engineering and construction jobs, and long-term with recent studies showing a minimum 4-to-1 return on investment.

Bird-watchers in search of the endangered Wood Stork are going to have to stick to the parking lot of Paurotis Pond, in Florida Bay. Everglades National Park announced the pond's seasonal closure to include the area beyond the parking area adjacent to the pond in its continuing effort to protect the Wood Stork and all nesting birds "from human disturbance. " "This closure will be in effect through nesting season which can vary in length depending on bird behavior," a park announcement said.

Some of the Everglades' most common wading bird species, including the usually numerous white ibis, nested far less in 2010 compared to 2009, and scientists at the South Florida Water Management District say changes in weather patterns similar to the cold front that hit South Florida in December are to blame. According to the South Florida Wading Bird Report released late last year, only 21,885 nests were detected in South Florida, a 72 percent decrease from last year's more than 77,000 nests, and 52 percent less than the average over the last 10 years.